Ray Dolby

Ray Dolby (1933-2013) worked at Ampex as a teenager and young engineer on the first practical videotape recorder, earned a PhD in physics at the University of Cambridge, and spent time in India as a UNESCO adviser before founding Dolby Laboratories in London in 1965 to eliminate tape hiss.

Ray Dolby founded Dolby Laboratories in London in 1965. His Dolby A noise-reduction system was adopted by professional recording studios, and the simplified Dolby B (around 1968) was licensed to cassette-deck makers, making the cassette a credible hi-fi format. He later took the company into cinema with Dolby Stereo, used on films such as Star Wars (1977). The company moved to San Francisco in 1976. Ray Dolby died in 2013; his family remains a major shareholder through Class B shares.